I joined the University in 2006. Prior to joining the university, I did postdoctoral fellowships at The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, Maine) and The MRC Institute for Hearing Research (Nottingham, United Kingdom).

What are your research interests?

My laboratory focuses on understanding cell death pathways in neurodegenerative disease. We are particularly interested in understanding neurodegenerative pathways in diseases of the retina, such as glaucoma and other optic neuropathies.

What are you looking forward to most in this new position?

Over the last 19 years Bob Mooney built a very strong program. Importantly, Bob focused the program on understanding the pathophysiology of human disease, aligning the program perfectly with the University’s and NIH’s interest in understanding human disease.

Several years ago, Dr. Lianping Xing joined Bob as co-director of the program. Lian’s efforts have significantly strengthened the program, particularly in modernizing the course work and preparing our new students for the challenges of graduate study.

I am looking forward to working with Lian and Donna Shannon (the program coordinator) to continue to enhance the program, focusing on training our students for the challenges of studying complex human diseases. Also, I am looking forward to working with our students to help them on their way toward establishing fulfilling careers.